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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

So far, we found very little information about Ararat. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>

We've added Ararat to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Ararat, please Contact Us.

We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:

  • That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
  • We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
  • On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.

By learning about Ararat (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.

As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for Ararat. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.

Name Variations for Ararat ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

Ararat was originally named Forge

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

Neighboring Counties ...

When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.

So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived:  their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the west contained birth and death records; the county to the north contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Although our information shows that the community of Ararat is historic, it would have been located within present day Comanche County.

To see how the shape of Texas' counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Comanche County: Brown, Eastland, Erath, Hamilton & Mills.

Below are the counties that are near Ararat. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Ararat:

  • Comanche County     (The home county of Ararat)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ararat, with the one closest to Ararat listed first.
    • Proctor
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Proctor have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Proctor
      • Proctor is located in Comanche County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Proctor <3>
    • Wilson
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wilson have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson
      • Wilson is located in Comanche County
    • Gustine
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gustine have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gustine
      • Gustine is located in Comanche County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 474 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gustine <3>
    • Comyn
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comyn
      • Comyn is located in Comanche County
    • Energy
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Comanche
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • De Leon
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Rucker
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rucker
      • Rucker is located in Comanche County
    • Sidney
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sidney have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sidney
      • Sidney is located in Comanche County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sidney <3>
    • Sipe Springs
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sipe Springs
      • Sipe Springs is located in Comanche County
  • Bosque County
    • Iredell
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Iredell have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iredell
      • Iredell is located in Bosque County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 340 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Iredell <3>
  • Brown County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ararat, with the one closest to Ararat listed first.
    • Blanket
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Zephyr
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Eastland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ararat, with the one closest to Ararat listed first.
    • Desdemona
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Gorman
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gorman have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gorman
      • Gorman is located in Eastland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,033 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gorman <3>
    • Kokomo
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kokomo
      • Kokomo is located in Eastland County
  • Erath County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ararat, with the one closest to Ararat listed first.
    • Dublin
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dublin have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dublin
      • Dublin is located in Erath County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,552 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dublin <3>
    • Alexander
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alexander
      • Alexander is located in Erath County
    • Harbin
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harbin
      • Harbin is located in Erath County
    • Bunyan
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunyan
      • Bunyan is located in Erath County
    • Clairette
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clairette
      • Clairette is located in Erath County
    • Lingleville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lingleville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lingleville
      • Lingleville is located in Erath County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lingleville <3>
    • Stephenville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Duffau
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duffau
      • Duffau is located in Erath County
  • Hamilton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ararat, with the one closest to Ararat listed first.
    • Carlton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Spurlin ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spurlin have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spurlin
      • Spurlin is located in Hamilton County
    • Pottsville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pottsville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pottsville
      • Pottsville is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pottsville <3>
    • Hico
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hico
      • Hico is located in Hamilton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,437 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hico <3>
    • Hamilton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Agee ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Agee. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Agee
      • Agee is located in Hamilton County
    • McGirk ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McGirk have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGirk
      • McGirk is located in Hamilton County
  • Mills County

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Ararat, see our County-by-County Page for Ararat.

Newspapers Published in Ararat ...

An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).

To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.

Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 53 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ararat.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ararat, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Ararat.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.

To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Ararat:

Cemeteries Near Ararat ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ararat.

This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know. If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Ararat covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Ararat, with the one closest to Ararat listed first.

  • Miller Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Miller Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Miller Cemetery
  • Baggett Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Baggett Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Baggett Cemetery
  • Reid Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Reid Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Reid Cemetery
  • Graham Chapel Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Graham Chapel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Graham Chapel Cemetery
  • Luker Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Luker Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Luker Cemetery
  • Proctor Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Proctor Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Proctor Cemetery
  • Barbee Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Evergreen Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Evergreen Cemetery
  • Live Oak Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Live Oak Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Live Oak Cemetery
  • Union Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Union Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Union Cemetery
  • Pecan Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pecan Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pecan Cemetery
  • Hanson Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hanson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hanson Cemetery
  • Continue List   (120 more) ...
    • Sardis Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Midway Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Midway Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Midway Cemetery
    • Old Dublin Memorial Park
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old Dublin Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Dublin Memorial Park

Nearby Communities in 1895 ...

We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.

While we didn't find Ararat in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Ararat.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Ararat, with the one closest to Ararat listed first.

  • Proctor
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Proctor have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Proctor
    • Proctor is located in Comanche County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Proctor <3>
  • Hazeldell
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hazeldell have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazeldell
    • Hazeldell is located in Comanche County
  • Wilson
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wilson have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson
    • Wilson is located in Comanche County
  • Gustine
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gustine have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gustine
    • Gustine is located in Comanche County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 474 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gustine <3>
  • Dublin
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dublin have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dublin
    • Dublin is located in Erath County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,552 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dublin <3>
  • Fleming
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fleming have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fleming
    • Fleming is located in Comanche County
  • Lamkin
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lamkin have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamkin
    • Lamkin is located in Comanche County
  • Downing
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Downing have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Downing
    • Downing is located in Comanche County
  • Carlton
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Alexander
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alexander
    • Alexander is located in Erath County
  • Comanche
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Newburg
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Newburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newburg
    • Newburg is located in Comanche County
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Harbin
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harbin
      • Harbin is located in Erath County
    • Highland
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Highland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland
      • Highland is located in Erath County
    • Gentrys Mill
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gentrys Mill have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gentrys Mill
      • Gentrys Mill is located in Hamilton County

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Ararat. See our List of 1890's Communities around Ararat.

The official website for State of Texas: https://texas.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Ararat, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<2>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<5>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Ararat) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ararat. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 31.9473, Longitude: -98.3808    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024